Nieuw onderzoek in vijf Europese landen heeft aangetoond dat Nederlandse bedrijven achter blijven in kennis over nieuwe virussen, zoals zogenaamde 'blended threats'. Ondanks de recente uitbraken van de MSBlaster en Sobig.f wormen, die wereldwijd voor miljoenen aan schade hebben aangericht, blijken Nederlandse bedrijven minder goed voorbereid te zijn op nieuwe uitbraken dan bedrijven in bijvoorbeeld Frankrijk, Duitsland of Zweden. Meer informatie over het onderzoek, dat in opdracht van beveiligingsbedrijf Network Associates is uitgevoerd in de vijf grootste economieën van Europa, treft u aan in het onderstaande persbericht.
Tijdens de InfoSecurity beurs, die op 11 en 12 november in de Amsterdamse RAI wordt gehouden, zullen Patrick Aalbers en Simon Leech van Network Associates de specifieke resultaten van het onderzoek graag met u bespreken. U kunt op de beurs tevens een kopie van het complete onderzoek ontvangen.
Als u nog vragen heeft kunt u natuurlijk ook altijd even contact opnemen met Text100.
Met vriendelijke groet,
Jurriaan Trommels
Account Executive
Text 100 Public Relations
Global High Tech Public Relations
Technology Marketing PR Agency of the Year 2003
Van Diemenstraat 164-166, 1013 CN Amsterdam
Tel: +31 20 530 4348
Fax: +31 20 530 4331
Email: jurriaan.trommels@text100.nl
URL: http://www.text100.com
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NEW NETWORK ASSOCIATES COMMISSIONED SURVEY REVEALS SECURITY IS BUSINESS CRITICAL FOR EUROPE’S TOP FIRMS
McAfee Commissioned Survey Finds that 84% of Europe’s Top 1000 Companies Find Proactive Protection Critical to their Future Growth
October 30, 2003 – Network Associates, Inc. (NYSE: NET), the leading provider of intrusion prevention solutions, today announced findings from a new research study commissioned by McAfeeâ Security and conducted among 200 of Europe’s top 1000 businesses in the UK, France, Germany, Netherlands and Sweden. The research findings concluded that four out of five (84%) of Europe’s top 1000 companies now consider security as ‘business critical’ to the company’s future growth. The research also found that security is regularly discussed in the boardroom among 40% of these companies. This rose to 53% in German and 57% in Dutch boardrooms.
Even in the tough economic climate, company bosses have continued to spend to secure their business against cyber threats and attacks.
French companies led Europe in terms of their risk assessment to justify security budgets, many choosing to weigh up spend against potential loss (16% of French organisations use this method).
Overall, a quarter (26%) of European CIOs, IT directors and CSIOs interviewed said that security was so imperative that budget was not an issue.
In Germany, almost one in two companies (44%) has increased their security spending due to the increased risk of attacks. Security spending was tightest in the UK, where one in ten respondents said they did not spend enough.
A large proportion of this security investment is spent reactively, patching up previous security breaches (more so in France and the Netherlands). This was cited as the second key driver for security investment after pressure from audit requirements.
The exception was Germany where the key security driver for companies was pressure for regulatory compliance.
Even with this investment, one in ten European firms is still affected by the big cyber attacks. Sweden was most affected by recent attacks—explained in part by the fact that some firms still do not have technology deployed against cyber crime despite being one of the most connected countries in Europe.
A new more potent threat emerged in recent years—the blended threat. Blended threats such as Lovsan, Sobig.f, Nachi, NIMDA, Code Red and SQL Slammer impacted servers and PCs as well as the underlying network infrastructure.
However, there is a low understanding among European IT directors, CIOs and CSIOs of blended threats. More than one in two (57%) respondents did not know what a blended threat was. This rose to 80% and 85% in the UK and Netherlands.
Low understanding may explain why there was relatively little technology deployed or planned for to deal with blended threats. One in five (19%) companies had no technology or plans in place to deal with blended threats.
The research highlights two approaches to security planning across Europe. The first is an ‘act now’ proactive approach—companies who already have technology deployed or plan to deploy technology within the next 12 months against cyber threats from viruses to hacking.
German companies lead Europe in their proactive approach to security deployment and planning with 100% of companies saying that they had deployed technology against both viruses and worms. Virtually all German companies interviewed also have technology already deployed or plan to install technology to deal with other cyber threats such as spam and hackers.
France followed suit with the full 100% deploying technology against viruses whilst a high percentage are proactively protecting themselves against other forms of cyber crime.
The second approach is the ‘wait and see’ reactive approach—companies who have no plans to install technology to deal with threats and attacks now or in the future.
Amazingly, 4% of European companies still have no technology or plans in place to deal with cyber crime such as viruses or worms.
Companies in the Netherlands top Europe in their ‘wait and see’ approach to security followed by UK companies with the least technology currently deployed to protect against cyber threats and fewest plans to shore up their security in the future.
Patrick Aalbers, marketing manager Netherlands, Network Associatesâ said: “The security challenge for businesses has grown ever bigger as networks have become more porous, intruders more sophisticated and threats more prevalent. Our research has clearly demonstrated that, whilst many businesses remain vulnerable to next generation threats, too much time is spent in boardrooms worrying about the damage to be caused by the next cyber attack. This needn’t be the case.”
Added Aalbers, “These days, businesses need reliable proactive protection against known and unknown threats at every level of the business from the desktop to the core of the network; protection against external attacks as well as those from the inside. Only then are they able to make use of the latest technologies which deliver competitive advantage.”
“Network Associates offers businesses the benefits of McAfee Protection-In-Depthä. We use both new and ‘classic’ techniques based on current strengths in anti-virus, anti-spam and network management software as well as offering new host and network intrusion prevention technologies that detect and block attacks before they disrupt business. By delivering the right level of protection across the whole enterprise, we can empower business leaders to concentrate on running their business.”
Research Methodology:
Continental Research, commissioned by Network Associates, interviewed senior IT decision makers in 200 top companies by turnover in France, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden and the UK. Interviews took place during August 2003.
McAfee System Protection Solutions
McAfee System Protection Solutions secure all layers of desktop and server systems and applications. Best-of-breed system protection solutions in the portfolio include McAfee anti-virus, McAfee® ThreatScan™ for viral vulnerability assessment, McAfeeâ Entercept® preventing system intrusions, and McAfee® SpamKiller® to block unsolicited e-mail. These products are all centrally managed by the company’s industry leading McAfeeâ ePolicy Orchestrator® (ePO™) which delivers policy management and reporting of both McAfee and third-party security products. Also in the McAfee System Protection Solutions portfolio is the Magic Service Desk family of products offering management and visibility of desktop and server systems.
About Network Associates
With headquarters in Santa Clara, California, Network Associates, Inc. (NYSE: NET) creates best-of-breed computer security solutions that prevent intrusions on networks and protect computer systems from the next generation of blended attacks and threats. Offering two families of products, McAfee System Protection Solutions, securing desktops and servers, and McAfee Network Protection Solutions, ensuring the protection and performance of the corporate network, Network Associates offers computer security to large enterprises, governments, small and medium sized businesses, and consumers. These two product portfolios incorporate Network Associates leading McAfee Security, Sniffer® Technologies and Magic Solutions® product lines. For more information, Network Associates can be reached at 972-963-8000 or on the Internet at http://www.networkassociates.com/.
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NOTE: Network Associates, McAfee, AVERT, Sniffer, Threatscan, ePolicy Orchestrator, SpamKiller, Entercept, ePO, Protection In Depth, and Magic Solutions are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Network Associates, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the United States and/or other countries. Sniffer® brand products are made only by Network Associates. All other registered and unregistered trademarks herein are the sole property of their respective owners. *2003 Networks Associates Technology, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
For further information please contact:
Jurriaan Trommels
Text 100 Public Relations
T:+31 20 531 4348
E:jurriaan.trommels@text100.nl
Patrick Aalbers
Network Associates International
T:+31 20 586 6264
E:Patrick_Aalbers@nai.com